Sam Darnold gave the Jets’ struggling offense a huge boost by throwing two touchdown passes in his return from mononucleosis, and New York held on to beat the Dallas Cowboys 24-22 on Sunday night for their first win of the season.
The Jets led 21-9 in the fourth quarter, but Dak Prescott and the top-ranked Cowboys offense stormed back – and had a chance to tie in the closing moments.
Prescott ran for a 4-yard touchdown with 43 seconds left, making it a two-point game. Going for the tie, Prescott dropped back and was quickly met by a blitzing Jamal Adams and his pass on the conversion try fell short of Jason Witten in the end zone.
The Cowboys (3-3) tried an onside kick, but Demaryius Thomas recovered for the Jets (1-4), who won for the first time under coach Adam Gase. It was the third straight loss for Dallas.
Darnold, who missed three games while recovering from mononucleosis, finished 23 of 32 for 338 yards — including a 92-yard touchdown toss to Robby Anderson and a 5-yarder to Ryan Griffin. Le’Veon Bell also ran for a score, his first on the ground with the Jets.
The Cowboys played without starting tackles La’el Collins and Tyron Smith, and star wide receiver Amari Cooper was sidelined most of the game with a quadriceps injury. But Dallas made it a five-point game on Ezekiel Elliott’s 5-yard run with 6:30 remaining, capping an 11-play, 84-yard drive.
Sam Ficken’s 38-yard field goal with 3:24 left made it 24-16 — but the Cowboys had one more long drive in them, helped by a few penalties on the Jets. After a pass interference call on Adams put the ball at the Jets 16, Prescott ran for 8 yards. Following an incomplete pass to Tavon Austin, Elliott ran for 4 yards to set up Prescott’s TD run.
Prescott was 28 of 40 for 277 yards. Elliott finished with 105 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries.
Cooper left late in the first quarter and was on the sideline without his helmet early in the second quarter. He had one catch for 3 yards.
Darnold came out throwing in his first snap since the season opener and connected with Thomas for a 17-yard gain. But, Robert Quinn sacked him on the next play and the drive stalled — making it 29 straight games the Jets have failed to score a touchdown on their opening possession, the longest active streak in the NFL.
But, Darnold and the Jets got on the scoreboard on their second drive, capped Bell’s 2-yard touchdown run.
Darnold was efficient on the 14-play, 83-yard drive, going 6 of 8 for 43 yards. New York was also helped by three penalties on Dallas, including a horse-collar tackle of Darnold by Maliek Collins on third-and-goal from the 7 that gave the Jets the ball at the 2.
Brett Maher booted a 50-yard field goal to open the second quarter and cut Dallas’ deficit to 7-3.
Prescott and the Cowboys marched down the field and got to the Jets 6, but stalled. Elliott lost a yard on third down and Jason Garrett opted to go for it on four-and-2 from the 7. Prescott took the ball on a keeper, but was stuffed by rookie Quinnen Williams for a loss of a yard — and a turnover on downs.
Darnold came out on the very next play and found a wide-open Anderson zipping down the field and hit him in stride for a 92-yard touchdown to put the Jets up 14-3 with 3:34 left in the opening half. It was the second-longest reception in franchise history behind the 96-yard TD catch by Wesley Walker on a pass from Ken O’Brien at Buffalo on Dec. 8, 1985.
Darnold and the Jets weren’t done in the half. After the Cowboys went three-and-out, New York got the Ball at its 35. An 11-yard catch by Griffin and a 33-yard grab by Thomas put the ball at the 17. Griffin then caught a pass over the middle and dragged a few defenders along for a 12-yard gain. Darnold went right back to Griffin, who snagged the pass, spun and reached over the goal line for a 5-yard touchdown to give the Jets a 21-3 lead.
Maher tied his franchise record by kicking a 62-yard field goal as the first half ended, making it 21-6. It was also the longest field goal ever made against the Jets. Maher also made a 62-yarder against the Eagles last December, making him the first kicker in NFL history, according to Sportradar, with two field goals of at least 62 yards.
Denver’s Matt Prater holds the NFL record for longest field goal, kicking a 64-yarder in 2013.
Dallas opened the second half with a long possession, holding the ball for 7 minutes, 10 seconds, but came away with only three points on Maher’s 32-yard field goal — after a 4-yard touchdown catch by Jason Witten was wiped away by an offensive pass interference call on Cedrick Wilson.
The Jets were driving late in the third quarter, but Jourdan Lewis intercepted Darnold’s pass intended for Crowder. Darnold had thrown 179 consecutive passes without being picked off, dating to Week 14 of last season at Buffalo.
Dallas couldn’t take advantage, though, as Maher’s 40-yard attempt sailed wide right 51 seconds into the fourth quarter.
San Francisco 49ers 20-7 Los Angeles Rams
Jimmy Garoppolo passed for 243 yards and ran for a touchdown, and the San Francisco 49ers remained unbeaten with a dominant defensive performance in a 20-7 victory over the struggling Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
George Kittle had eight catches for 103 yards for the Niners (5-0), who held Los Angeles’ once-unstoppable offense to 165 yards in coach Kyle Shanahan’s first victory over Rams coach Sean McVay in a game in which both of these NFC West rivals were playing their starters.
These longtime coaching colleagues’ teams are going in opposite directions after this one-sided showdown at the Coliseum. San Francisco used its possession offense and a sturdy defense to stay alongside New England as the NFL’s only unbeaten teams, while the Rams (3-3) are on their first three-game losing streak of McVay’s 2½-year tenure.
Tevin Coleman rushed for an early touchdown for San Francisco, while Garoppolo was mostly effective despite two turnovers. The Niners didn’t score a touchdown in the final 27 minutes, but they’re off to their fourth 5-0 start in franchise history, and their first since 1990.
With Todd Gurley sitting out to rest his bruised thigh, Los Angeles couldn’t move the ball in its least productive performance of McVay’s tenure. Robert Woods rushed for a touchdown on the opening drive for the Rams, who then managed 48 net yards on their next eight drives combined.
San Francisco won a defense-dominated game by thoroughly throttling the defending NFC champions’ once-impressive passing game. Jared Goff went 13 of 24 for a career-low 78 yards while failing to get comfortable behind a porous offensive line, and the Rams didn’t manage a completion longer than 12 yards while going 0 for 9 on third down.
The Niners’ offense wasn’t significantly better during a first half in which both teams turned the ball over at the opponents’ 1, but San Francisco capitalized on Rams rookie Darrell Henderson’s fumble on the opening snap of the second half for a short go-ahead TD drive capped by Garoppolo’s sneak.
San Francisco then took control, moving the ball deliberately and thoroughly shutting down the Rams. The Niners led 20-7 when Garoppolo’s fumble was returned to the San Francisco 36 with 8:40 to play, but the Rams promptly turned it over on downs.
Everything looked fine for the Rams while McVay called seven consecutive runs on their opening drive. Malcolm Brown, the longtime backup grabbing a starring role with Gurley out, racked up 40 yards on five carries before Woods scored on a beautifully designed end-around.
It was the Rams’ first touchdown in a first quarter since last 30 December, and it was the first rushing touchdown allowed by the 49ers this season.
It was also the only real highlight of the Rams’ miserable day.
San Francisco answered with Coleman’s TD run capping a 75-yard drive prolonged by a third-down penalty on Los Angeles. The Niners drove to the Rams 1 again, but Garoppolo’s atrocious throw at the goal line was easily intercepted by Marcus Peters.
Los Angeles then reached the Niners’ one on third down, but ran two straight running plays up the middle for no gain.
Henderson, a third-round pick with one career carry before this game, had two impressive runs in the first half – but he dropped a pitchout from Goff on the opening play of the second half, and Arik Armstead recovered at the Rams 17. San Francisco easily scored on the short field.
The Niners again drove to the Los Angeles two, but Garoppolo overthrew a wide-open Coleman on third down.
Houston Texans 31-24 Kansas City Chiefs
Deshaun Watson threw for 280 yards and a touchdown while running for two more, outdueling Chiefs counterpart Patrick Mahomes in a matchup of former first-round picks and leading the Houston Texans to a 31-24 victory over Kansas City on Sunday.
Carlos Hyde added 116 yards rushing and a touchdown against the team that traded him to Houston (4-2) before the start of the season. DeAndre Hopkins hauled in nine passes for 55 yards.
None was bigger than his last, when the Texans star made a sliding grab on fourth-and-3 from the Kansas City 27 with just under two minutes to go. That allowed Houston to run out the clock and deal the Chiefs (4-2) their second consecutive loss – both at Arrowhead Stadium.
Mahomes, who was selected two spots ahead of Watson in the 2017 draft, finished with 273 yards passing and three touchdowns, though he also threw his first interception of the season.
Star wide receiver Tyreek Hill returned to action for the first time since Week 1, when he broke his collarbone, to catch five passes for 80 yards and two of the Chiefs’ scores.
It wasn’t a pretty game for either side. The teams combined for 21 penalties totaling nearly 150 yards, and that didn’t include close to a dozen flags that were offsetting, overruled or declined.
It was Kansas City that started hot, engineering drives of at least 90 yards twice in the first quarter. Hill finished the first with a 46-yard reception – the first TD throw in a first quarter by Mahomes since Week 1 – while Damien Williams finished the second with a 14-yard TD catch.
In between, Hyde coughed up the ball on Houston’s first offensive play.
But the big running back soon atoned for his mistake. Hyde battered the Chiefs’ porous run defense the rest of the game, punctuating a big first half with a short touchdown run.
The Texans then took the lead into the locker room after Mahomes was strip-sacked with 20 seconds left and Houston recovered, and Watson waltzed into the end zone on the very next play.
It wasn’t the last time he reached pay dirt.
Mahomes hit Hill again in the third quarter to give the Chiefs the lead back , but the Houston quarterback answered with a 12-play, 93-yard drive consuming more than eight and a half minutes. By the time he spun into the end zone and converted the two-point try, the Texans had a 31-24 lead with 6:17 to go.
Kansas City went three-and-out on its next possession, and a defense that has been maligned for most of Andy Reid’s tenure with the Chiefs failed to make a stop once again.
Atlanta Falcons 33-34 Arizona Cardinals
Kyler Murray threw for 340 yards and three touchdowns and the Arizona Cardinals built a big lead, lost it, and then rallied again for a 34-33 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
Atlanta looked like it would tie the game with 1:53 left after Matt Ryan hit Devonta Freeman on a 12-yard touchdown pass, but 44-year-old Matt Bryant missed left on the extra point, and the Cardinals ran out the clock from there.
The Cardinals (2-3-1) took a 34-27 lead with 5:12 remaining on David Johnson’s 14-yard touchdown catch from Murray. Johnson made a great adjustment to his route on the slightly underthrown ball, catching the ball between two defenders.
The Cardinals won at home for the first time since last Oct. 28.
After showing flashes during the season’s first five games, Arizona’s offense put together the complete performance it expected after bringing in coach Kliff Kingsbury and Murray during the offseason.
The Falcons (1-5) have lost four straight games.
The way this one ended was a stunner. Bryant had missed just three extra points over the past 11 seasons before Sunday. After the miss, the kicker took off his helmet and walked off the field with his head down.
Arizona scored on a 20-yard touchdown from Murray to Maxx Williams early in the third quarter to take a 27-10 lead and looked like it might turn the game into a blowout.
Atlanta responded with a field goal and then a 7-yard touchdown pass from Ryan to Devonta Freeman to pull within 27-20 by the fourth quarter. The Falcons tied the game at 27 with 10:50 left in the fourth quarter after Ryan’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Austin Hooper.
Hooper finished with eight catches for 117 yards.
Atlanta was trying to bounce back after a 53-32 loss at Houston last week. The Falcons stayed on the road, flying directly to Phoenix and practicing for a week in the desert.
It looked like the strategy might work until Bryant’s miss. Ryan completed 30 of 36 passes for 356 yards and four touchdowns.
The Cardinals were productive on offense in the first half and this time had some success in the red zone, which was a problem in previous games. Chase Edmonds scored on a two-yard pass from Murray and Johnson ran for a one-yard score as Arizona built a 20-10 halftime lead.
Murray showed off his arm strength and touch on a few big plays, including a 58-yard pass over the middle to Damiere Byrd and a 38-yard completion to Trent Sherfield down the left sideline.
Atlanta jumped to a 7-0 lead early on Ryan’s nine-yard pass to Calvin Ridley that capped a 10-play, 80-yard drive, but the Falcons managed just 50 yards the rest of the first half.
Philadelphia Eagles 20-38 Minnesota Vikings
Kirk Cousins threw to Stefon Diggs for three of his four touchdowns, racking up a season-high 333 passing yards as the Minnesota Vikings ravaged the Philadelphia Eagles secondary in a 38-20 victory Sunday.
Diggs scored on plays in the first half that covered 51 and 62 yards, becoming the first player since Randy Moss in 2000 to post two touchdown receptions of 50-plus yards in one game for the Vikings (4-2).
His most important catch came late in the third quarter, a double toe tap in the back of the end zone from 11 yards out that pushed the lead to 11 points after Carson Wentz and the Eagles (3-3) had pulled within 24-20 with 17 straight points.
Cousins went 22 for 29 with one sack and one interception that was, oddly enough, Diggs’ fault when a sideline throw hit him in the hands, bounced off his helmet and into the air behind him for former Vikings safety Andrew Sendejo to pick off late in the second quarter.
The sure sign that this was not the Eagles’ day came right after that, when coach Doug Pederson called a fake field goal from the 21 with 20 seconds left in the half. The snap to Jake Elliott left the kicker with only one receiver, well-covered tight end Dallas Goedert, and the desperation throw was tipped by Anthony Harris and intercepted by Everson Griffen.
The Eagles have been badly missing starting cornerbacks Ronald Darby and Avonte Maddox, and Cousins took full advantage with a first half that looked at times like passing drills against the scout team.
Adam Thielen made a slick double move to beat Sidney Jones for a textbook fade throw by Cousins for a seven-yard touchdown to cap the opening drive. After Diggs blew by Rasul Douglas on a post route in the second quarter to put the Vikings up 17-3, he gave Cousins a hearty hug on an all-smiles sideline.
Seattle Seahawks 32-28 Cleveland Browns
Chris Carson scored on a one-yard touchdown run with 3:30 left, Russell Wilson threw two TD passes and ran for one and the Seattle Seahawks rallied for a 32-28 win Sunday over the mistake-prone Cleveland Browns and improved to 3-0 on the road for the first time in 39 years.
The Seahawks (5-1) gave up touchdowns on Cleveland’s first three possessions before storming back.
Wilson connected with Jaron Brown for two scores, and Seattle’s cool quarterback scampered 16 yards for a TD. The Seahawks last won their first three road games in 1980, when they went 4-12.
The Browns (2-4) were hurt by their own miscues. They couldn’t overcome four turnovers, a blocked punt or quarterback Baker Mayfield’s hip injury and fell to 0-3 at FirstEnergy Stadium.
Mayfield threw three interceptions, raising his NFL-leading total to 11. Trying to bring the Browns back late, Mayfield, who went to the locker room in the third quarter to be evaluated, was picked off by Seattle’s KJ Weight with 2:41 remaining.
The Seahawks defenders celebrated the game-clinching turnover in front of Cleveland’s Dawg Pound section and were pelted with cans and other debris.
Wilson then ran out the clock as the Seahawks moved to 5-1 for the third time.
Carson’s short TD burst capped an efficient 79-yard drive by Wilson, who showed his usual poise and precision after the Browns had taken a 28-55 lead on Nick Chubb’s three-yard TD run.
Wilson finished 23 of 33 for 299 yards and stayed error-free. He has yet to throw an interception this season, and to this point, the eight-year veteran is outplaying every other QB in the league.
Mayfield, on the other hand, is struggling. He completed 22 of 37 passes for 249 yards, but he forced several throws and made a deliberate attempt to get the ball to Odell Beckham, who finished with six catches for 101 yards.
Carson gained 124 yards on 24 carries for the Seahawks, who lost tight end Will Dissly in the first half with an Achilles injury.
Chubb had 122 yards on 20 attempts.
Even after the Browns scored on their first three drives and opened a 20-6 lead, Wilson wasn’t rattled.
He hung in the pocket and took a big hit from linebacker Joe Schobert while completing a 17-yard TD pass with 22 seconds left in the half to pull the Seahawks within 20-18. Seattle’s two-point conversion failed, but the Seahawks were back in it after the Browns got greedy moments earlier.
Instead of running the ball, first-year coach Freddie Kitchens called a pass play and Mayfield forced one into the end zone that was behind Jarvis Landry, tipped and intercepted by safety Tedric Thompson.
Mayfield’s first career TD run put the Browns up 14-6 in the first quarter. With no receivers open, Mayfield, who hasn’t been running as much as he did as a rookie, took off and scored without the Seahawks laying a hand on him.
The TD scamper came just two plays after Mayfield converted on fourth-and-7 with a 27-yard pass to Landry.
Cincinnati Bengals 17-13 Baltimore Ravens
Lamar Jackson rambled, shimmied and passed his way through the winless Bengals, who were rendered powerless against the versatile and seemingly indestructible Baltimore quarterback.
Jackson ran for a career-high 152 yards and a touchdown, threw for 236 yards and guided the Ravens past hapless Cincinnati 23-17 on Sunday.
Alternatingly jutting left and right, up the middle and occasionally toward the sideline, Jackson carried 19 times (including three kneel-downs at the end). Tapering off his forays downfield at the end, Jackson finished tantalizingly short of Michael Vick’s single-game record of 173 yards rushing by a quarterback.
Jackson now has three career 100-yard rushing games, tied with Billy Kilmer for most by a quarterback in his first two seasons since 1950. Jackson’s first 100-yard game came last November, in his first NFL start against the Bengals.
In this one, Jackson avoided trouble when possible but also took a few hard hits when forced to stay between the hash marks. Each time, he popped up with enthusiasm, ready to do it again.
Regardless of where Jackson went, the Bengals (0-6) were usually a step behind.
Jackson was also adept when throwing, going 21 for 33 without an interception.
Cincinnati jumped on top when Brandon Wilson took the opening kickoff 92 yards for a score, but Jackson responded quickly. Baltimore (4-2) finished with 497 yards of offense, and the Ravens retained sole possession of first place in the AFC North.
The Bengals, meanwhile, remain in search of their first win under first-year coach Zac Taylor.
Andy Dalton went 21 for 39 for 235 yards and scored on a two-yard run with 1:28 left. But Cincinnati failed to a produce an offensive touchdown over the first three quarters in a third straight game.
Baltimore compiled a 212-6 advantage in yardage and an 11-0 margin in first downs during the first quarter. Jackson led the way with 106 yards through the air and 85 on the ground.
The Ravens scored touchdowns on each of their first two possessions, a 21-yard run by Jackson and a one-yard plunge by Mark Ingram. The quarter ended just before Justin Tucker kicked a 40-yard field goal for a 17-7 lead.
Late in the half, the Bengals moved to the Baltimore 21 before Marlon Humphrey intercepted a deflected pass. The Ravens gave it back when tight end Mark Andrews fumbled while trying to hurdle a defender, and Cincinnati cashed in with a field goal.
New Orleans Saints 13-6 Jacksonville Jaguars
Teddy Bridgewater found Jared Cook for a four-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter, and the New Orleans Saints held on to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 13-6 on Sunday and improve to 4-0 without injured starter Drew Brees.
Coming off a 300-yard, four-touchdown performance against Tampa Bay, Bridgewater was less effective against the Jaguars (2-4). But he did enough for New Orleans’ defense, which turned Minshew Mania into Minshew Mayhem.
Minshew was sacked twice, hurried often and threw his first interception as a starter. The rookie sensation completed 14 of 29 passes for 163 yards and was held without a touchdown for the first time this season. His worst outing came on the same day the team, in conjunction with the NFL, handed out 30,000 “Minshew mustaches” as fans entered the gates.
Bridgewater was 24 of 36 passing for 240 yards for the Saints (5-1). He picked up a first down on a quarterback sneak in the closing minutes to seal the victory.
Michael Thomas had eight receptions for 89 yards, and Alvin Kamara finished with 31 yards rushing while playing through an ankle injury.
Leonard Fournette ran for 72 yards, ending a two-game streak of reaching the century mark on the ground.
Jacksonville finished with a season-low 226 yards. The Jaguars had a chance late, but Minshew threw incomplete on a fourth-and-2 play from the New Orleans 40-yard line.
Washington 17-16 Miami Dolphins
Rookie Terry McLaurin caught two touchdown passes and Washington stopped Miami’s two-point conversion attempt with six seconds left for a 17-16 victory Sunday in a matchup between winless teams.
Adrian Peterson more than doubled his season rushing total with 118 for Bill Callahan in his first game as interim coach. Washington intercepted Josh Rosen twice and sacked him five times before he was benched at the start of the fourth quarter with the Dolphins trailing 17-3.
Rosen’s replacement, Ryan Fitzpatrick, sparked a rally and led two touchdown drives, including a 75-yard march that began with 2:02 left. But after Fitzpatrick hit DeVante Parker for an 11-yard score to cut the deficit to one point, rookie coach Brian Flores decided to go for two.
Running back Kenyan Drake dropped Fitzpatrick’s quick pass with several defenders between him and the goal line.
Washington (1-5) looked like a different team after firing coach Jay Gruden, but the caliber of the opposition had something to do with that. The Dolphins (0-5) remained winless under Flores but helped their chances of securing the No 1 draft pick in April.
Although Miami’s defense had its best effort of the season, McLaurin slipped behind the secondary to catch scoring passes of 25 and 33 yards from Case Keenum, who returned after missing one game because of a foot injury.
McLaurin, a third-round draft pick who has been one of Washington’s few bright spots this year, totaled four receptions for 100 yards.
Callahan gave Peterson a significant workload as expected, and the four-time All-Pro running back carried 23 times to reach the 100-yard rushing mark for the 56th time.
Meanwhile, Miami’s offense generated few cheers from the half-empty stadium and remained on pace for the lowest-scoring 16-game season in NFL history.
The Dolphins used six offensive linemen at times and converted two fourth downs, one with special teams trickery. They attempted an onside kick, which was foiled by a penalty.
Nothing could reverse their fortunes. Rosen went 15 for 25 for only 85 yards. Fitzpatrick went 12 for 18 for 132, and helped the Dolphins score their first second-half points all year.
But they never led and have been ahead for only three minutes, 49 seconds this season.
Carolina Panthers 37-26 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Jameis Winston started the day with an interception on Tampa Bay’s first play from scrimmage. He ended it staring into space following his sixth giveaway of the day.
A 400-yard passing day and his 100th career TD pass were overshadowed by the kind of sloppy performance from the No 1 overall pick in the 2015 draft that has become all too commonplace in his five seasons in Tampa Bay.
Winston committed six of Tampa Bay’s seven turnovers on the day and the Buccaneers had another rough stay in London, losing 37-26 to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
“Sometimes I do want to do great things,” Winston said. “But you can do great things but protect the team at the same time.”
Winton failed to do that on a day when he was under heavy pressure behind a makeshift offensive line that had backups Josh Wells and Earl Watford starting on the right side. He was sacked seven times, hit on two of his career-worst five interceptions, and lost the ball on one of his two strip-sacks on back-to-back plays.
But the tone was set on the opening snap when Winston tried to fit in a pass to Mike Evans only to see James Bradberry step in for the interception that set up a field goal for Carolina.
“One play can’t be the outcome of the whole game,” Winston said. “I have to do a better job of snap and clearing and playing better.”
But he was unable to do that even after the Bucs got back into the game with a touchdown run by Ronald Jones II in the second quarter following a Carolina turnover.
Winston then was hit on an interception on Tampa Bay’s next drive, setting up a Panthers touchdown that made it 17-7 and the deficit never got into single digits the rest of the way. Then with Tampa Bay driving late in the first half, Winston was strip-sacked on successive plays when he held onto the ball too long, leading to yet another turnover.
“Throw the damn ball away,” coach Bruce Arians said. “He has a habit of trying to be Superman. That’s been a problem in the past. The fumbles haven’t occurred this year until today. But again, trying to make something out of nothing. It’s just a matter of knowing when to quit on a play.”
An interception in the third quarter set up another Panthers touchdown that made it 27-7 and the Bucs were unable to overcome that.
Winston started putting up some big numbers late with a pair of TD drives in the fourth quarter and finished with his second career 400-yard game, along with TD pass No 100 to Cameron Brate.
But he also threw two more interceptions on the final two drives, giving him six giveaways for the game and an NFL-worst 86 since entering the league in 2015. He has five games with at least four turnovers while no other player in that span has more than two.
“I see the preparation, I see what he’s trying to do,” Arians said. “The fumbles, we have to get rid of those. We have to start throwing balls away. And we don’t have to take those sacks, you don’t take those hits either. The interceptions, I have to go back and look at the film where the ball was going and how it got there. I know that on one his arm was hit, the last one was just a prayer.”
Winston’s struggles weren’t the only problems for the Bucs, who fell to 0-3 all-time in London. Bobo Wilson muffed two punts, losing one of them, for Tampa Bay’s other turnover.
The defense got burned by Christian McCaffrey on a dazzling 25-yard touchdown catch and run and Carolina drove 99 yards for another score in the first half to take a 10-0 lead.
“We put ourselves in tough positions,” defensive lineman Ndamukomng Suh said. “From a defensive perspective, we’ve got to get off the field no matter what situation we are in. We didn’t hold up our end of the bargain.”